WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 83: I Was Once a Madman of Chu (5)
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Rumors had a way of spreading even while the person at their center slept.
“They say Guangdong's Featherless Arrow is that strong?”
“I heard Zhongnan's rising young talent lost to him.”
“Goodness. Then what would happen if he fought Hengshan Sect's rising young talent, the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf?”
“Featherless Arrow would win, obviously. Zhongnan's rising young talent lost to him. Don't you know Zhongnan? One of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.”
“Hengshan Sect is one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang too.”
“Huh.”
“What? What's with that reaction?”
“...No. Well. Hengshan Sect is one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang. In Hunan.”
“In Hunan? What does that mean?”
“It doesn't mean anything. Anyway, even if that were true, I don't think the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf could beat Featherless Arrow.”
“How would you know that?”
If these two fought, who would win?
Perhaps there was no story people found more instinctively entertaining.
As rumors of Yeon Sowol spread, people naturally began asking.
“So, if that Featherless Arrow fought the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf, who'd win?”
“Huh? Who's Featherless Arrow to be compared with the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf?”
“You don't know Featherless Arrow?”
“What, were you laid up sick for a week or something?”
“No. Who is he...?”
The Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf.
The Xiao River flowed into the Xiang River, the Xiang River into Dongting Lake, and Dongting Lake into the Yangtze before reaching the world beyond. Xiao-Xiang River referred to Hunan itself.
To receive such an epithet meant one was a master representing Hunan.
At least among the young masters around the age of twenty.
Once Yeon Sowol's name began to be mentioned alongside the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf, his fame swelled quickly.
“They say he throws whatever's in reach when he gets angry.”
“Apparently he's a Guangdong man with a vicious temper.”
“They say it's dangerous to insult Guangdong in front of him.”
“They're comparing someone like that to the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf? Ridiculous.”
“Exactly. Who is this Featherless Arrow that people keep comparing to our Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf...?”
“What are you talking about? Featherless Arrow would obviously win. He beat Zhongnan's rising young talent. Do you think Zhongnan is a joke?”
“What makes that violent monkey so great? Outsiders should stay out of this!”
Whether it was good fame was another matter.
* * *
Late at night.
Yeon Sowol sat at his desk.
He took out the Wudang Sect's <Cotton Palm Art>, which he always kept hidden against his chest.
“Father said I needed to become famous. He said that if I wanted to return this to Wudang Sect and be properly treated as their benefactor, I needed many friends who'd stand on my side.”
Wudang Sect was renowned for its qi arts.
The Supreme Ultimate Fist and Supreme Ultimate Sword contained principles of protective qi art that could redirect any kind of force.
Cloud Ladder was the pinnacle of lightness skills, said to make one's body float through the air.
It was also said that countless martial arts concealed the principles of every kind of lofty qi art.
In other words, even if Wudang's Cotton Palm was not especially useful to Yeon Sowol, who possessed the power of the Heaven-Killing Star, there were endless martial arts he could learn from Wudang Sect.
But...
Yeon Sowol covered his eyes with one hand.
“But I don't know if I'm doing this right, Father...”
* * *
“I think I've built up some fame by now, but I'm still a little uneasy.”
It was the day they left Chenzhou.
When Yeon Sowol emerged from the inn with his luggage, Jin Geol, who had come out first, sidled up to him and spoke without warning.
“Isn't there something that could really stand out? I think I'd feel better if something big happened before we reached Dongting Lake.”
Yeon Sowol raised his palm between himself and Jin Geol.
“Jin Geol, could you stop thinking for a while?”
“Huh? Why? You said you needed fame.”
“What I need is friends. Fame was supposed to come along the way.”
“Right. But you need fame as part of the process, don't you?”
Jin Geol casually pushed aside Yeon Sowol's palm. Yeon Sowol frowned at him.
“I did what you said, and all I've built is a bad reputation! At this rate, I'll end up in the Register of Jianghu Figures and the merchants' Guide to Avoiding Danger. Great. I'll make lots of friends that way, won't I?”
Yeon Sowol was serious, but Jin Geol only grinned.
“Don't worry. The real contest starts once we reach Dongting Lake, especially after we arrive at Yueyang Tower.”
“Yueyang Tower?”
Yeon Sowol repeated the unfamiliar name, and Won Huiseung looked startled beside him.
“What? Sowol, you don't know Yueyang Tower?”
“Ah.”
Yeon Sowol felt embarrassed.
Jin Geol hurriedly grabbed his sleeve.
“Now, now. No matter what, friends shouldn't fight each other.”
“What are you talking about? Who's fighting whom?”
“Weren't you about to throw something just now?”
“Me? At who?”
“At Huiseung.”
“Why would I?”
“Huiseung just said, ‘Ah, you don't know Yueyang Tower? As expected of a Guangdong country bumpkin...’ So I thought you were about to throw something again.”
“...”
Yeon Sowol considered whether he should ram something into this bastard's nose.
Noticing the signs, Jin Geol quickly released his hand and walked ahead.
“Anyway, Sowol, let's talk seriously. Yueyang Tower is a famous pavilion known throughout the world. Visitors come from everywhere. There's no better place to build a reputation and make friends.”
“A place like that...”
“But you know what Jianghu people are like. There are plenty of lunatics. You can't use me or Huiseung as the standard. All kinds of people are out there.”
“...?”
“So it might actually be good to earn a little bad reputation. It's better than being looked down on. First, become famous. Then use that fame to get involved with more famous people. You can show them your good side when the time comes. A little bad reputation now will disappear beneath a brilliant reputation later.”
Swish!
As he finished, Jin Geol opened his blank white fan and slowly waved it like Zhuge Liang. His clothes were all worn out, but the fan was obviously expensive.
‘He's reliable. But he isn't.’
Sometimes he was wiser than anyone, and sometimes he was more childish than anyone.
Yeon Sowol let out a heavy sigh, as though shaking off a bitter feeling, then asked with a serious look. Whatever else could be said, he trusted Jin Geol's wisdom.
“So what should we do right now?”
“I've been thinking. Once we reach Hengyang, I think we should try to build ties with Hengshan Sect.”
“Hengshan Sect?”
“Yeah. Hunan's Nine Great Sects and One Gang.”
“Huh? They're not part of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.”
“In Hunan, they take out Kunlun and put Hengshan Sect in.”
“They can do that?”
“What can you do? They think their local sect is the strongest.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, that's how prestigious they are. At least in Hunan, they're called one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang. Doesn't that smell like fame?”
“I see...”
“The problem is making a connection with Hengshan Sect. If they're such a prestigious great sect, even a first-rate master would find it hard to form ties with them. Let's think about how we can get involved with them.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Yeon Sowol thought to himself.
‘It would be nice if I could befriend someone from Hengshan Sect.’
If Hengshan Sect truly held that much status, even Wudang Sect would not take its name lightly.
Yeon Sowol's group left Chenzhou.
The sky was bright. Light struck the canyon and shimmered across the river, while the opposite canyon cast long shadows over it.
The river, where dazzling light and dark shadows crisscrossed, rippled with shifting colors.
It wound this way and that through the canyons, as though trapped in a twisting maze. It was the sort of river that made one wonder whether it could ever escape the gorge.
At the beginning of the road to Hengyang, a woman stood there.
Yeon Sowol recognized her.
‘That courtesan?’
She had been the courtesan who had hosted them in their room on the day they visited the pleasure house. She and Jin Geol, who spent silver ingots freely, had become close with surprising speed.
When she saw Jin Geol, she smiled brightly.
For some reason, it was a sad smile.
“You're leaving, Young Master Jin?”
Jin Geol answered with a sly grin.
“We were only passing through. So we must continue on.”
The courtesan smiled bitterly and held out her hand.
“Let me have that fan.”
Jin Geol handed it over. Right there, she took out a brush, opened an ink case, dipped it in ink, and wrote across the fan in a single flowing stroke.
The Chen River naturally circles Chenzhou Mountain,
For whom does it flow down to Xiao-Xiang River?
“This...”
Jin Geol's expression turned serious.
Yeon Sowol immediately understood the poem's meaning.
‘The feelings of someone left behind, unable to leave.’
The Chen River had seemed bound to Chenzhou Mountain just as she was.
Yet in the end, it flowed away to the Xiao-Xiang River...
The courtesan put away her brush and ink, then simply passed by them. She did not face Jin Geol again.
A sweet floral scent. Her voice.
“I'm envious of Jianghu people. My life is bound here in Chenzhou, and I can't go anywhere. But Young Master Jin and your friends can go anywhere you wish.”
Jin Geol slowly turned toward her. All he could see was her long hair as she walked farther away, one slow step at a time, her shoulders slightly slumped.
“There's an unsettling rumor going around Hengyang these days. They say many people have vanished without a trace, as though someone took them away. I know your martial arts are formidable, but please stay safe.”
The courtesan grew smaller in the distance.
Jin Geol watched her retreating figure, his shoulders drooping slightly.
Yeon Sowol was gripped by a strange feeling.
Falling into this world and becoming a Jianghu man.
There had been good things. Terrible things. Remarkable people. Every kind of crazy bastard.
So much had happened, but it had not all been bad.
‘What will happen beyond there?’
Yeon Sowol looked at the Chen River as it wound through the canyon, with light and shadow cast across the gorge.
He thought of Hengyang and Hengshan Sect, which lay beside the Xiao-Xiang River beyond it.
His heart beat a little faster.
* * *
On the road to Hengyang.
Two martial artists, a man and a woman, stood cradling their swords against their chests as they leaned against a tree.
The young man looked as though he had only recently turned twenty, while the woman appeared somewhat younger.
Both had long limbs, delicate features, and bright eyes.
Yet the woman's beauty stood out even more.
A smooth forehead. Dewy eyes. A gently curved nose. Pale cheeks flushed with color.
The handsome young man beside her seemed almost overshadowed.
The two spoke quietly as they watched the road leading toward Chenzhou.
“Junior Sister.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“We know Young Hero Yeon of Guangdong will come along this road. But even if he does, will we recognize him?”
“We might.”
“How? We don't even know what he looks like.”
“They say three young martial artists travel together...”
“Groups like that have already passed several times.”
“They say the youngest one among them is especially handsome. That should be Young Hero Yeon.”
“Hmm. Will that be enough to recognize him?”
“We have no other way, Senior Brother.”
At her words, the man called Senior Brother let his shoulders sag.
“That's true. Someone close to my age, someone who could easily make others lower their guard, yet with profound martial arts. Someone ruthless in combat. And a talent whose face isn't known around here...”
“Exactly.”
“But even if we recognize him, how do we confirm his skill? We need to see if his reputation has been exaggerated.”
“We should spar. Provoke him a little and draw out his full strength.”
“What if he refuses?”
“Well, they say he's a fighter...”
“I don't think he's the sort to fight just anyone.”
“Hmm. Then we'll try first, and if it really doesn't work... we can insult Guangdong.”
“Ah, I heard that too. But isn't that a little... wrong? Insulting someone's hometown?”
“Hmm. It certainly wouldn't be good for your reputation, Senior Brother.”
“No, that's not the problem...”
“Then if it comes to that, I'll do it. Trust me.”
“Right, as if you'd manage it. You've never said anything mean in your life.”
“I can do it.”
“They say he throws things at your face if you insult Guangdong. What will you do about your face?”
“...I'll block it with my arm so I don't get hurt.”
The man looked at his junior sister, who clenched both fists, with concern and affection in his eyes.
That was when it happened.
“Ah! There they are! That's them!”
Three men were walking toward them.
All three were tall and striking, but the young man in the middle drew the eye most strongly.
A pale blue robe fluttered around him. Beneath it, he wore white wanderer's clothing, and a thin navy silk sword cord swayed over it.
“...I think it really is them.”
The man stepped forward and raised his voice.
“Greetings! I am Yu Hyeon, the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf of Hengshan Sect. Are you perhaps Young Hero Yeon Sowol of the Guangdong Martial Alliance, Young Hero Jin of Hubei, and Young Hero Won of Zhongnan?”
The reply came at once.
“That is correct!”
It was a welcoming voice.
Yeon Sowol smiled as he greeted the Soaring Xiang Sword Wolf of Hengshan Sect.
He was genuinely delighted.
‘Hengshan Sect approached us first?’
He had been worrying every day with Jin Geol about how to establish ties with Hengshan Sect.
Then a young master from Hengshan Sect had come looking for him first.
Yu Hyeon even knew exactly that he belonged to the Guangdong Martial Alliance.
‘But how could he really know me? Has my name already reached Hengshan Sect?’
Yeon Sowol was briefly puzzled, but let it pass.
What mattered was forming a good connection with Yu Hyeon of Hengshan Sect.
‘He could become a new friend. A normal one...!’
He had not seen many normal people among Jianghu folk, but perhaps this man would be different. He had even properly called it the Guangdong Martial Alliance!
As Yeon Sowol looked on with anticipation, Yu Hyeon shouted.
“People have said that Yeon Sowol of the Guangdong Martial Alliance would defeat Yu Hyeon of Mount Heng! Having heard those words, I could not simply let them pass!”
Yeon Sowol faltered.
His smiling steps came to a halt.
Unease crossed his face.
“Today, I intend to determine whether that rumor is true!”
Yu Hyeon lowered the sword he had held in his arms and tightly wrapped a cord around its sheath and hilt.
Yeon Sowol's face filled with bewilderment.
Jin Geol and Won Huiseung watched with great interest.
“Take up your sword!”
At Yu Hyeon's words, Yeon Sowol hurriedly waved both hands.
“Those are just words from people who know nothing. There is no reason for us to fight over such nonsense.”
Yeon Sowol refused with a sorrowful expression.
Then the girl who had been standing beneath the shade of a tree suddenly stepped into the light.
Her exceptionally beautiful face came into view as her glossy lips parted and she shouted.
“W-why? A-are you frightened by my Senior Brother? Y-you, you, G-Guangdong m-monkey!”
After shouting that, she quickly raised both arms to shield her face.
Seeing that, Yeon Sowol fell silent.
“...”
Without a word, he looked up at the sky.
His expression was deeply sorrowful.
———
The Chen River naturally circles Chenzhou Mountain,
For whom does it flow down to Xiao-Xiang River?
- Qin Guan, a poet of the Song dynasty.
It is said Su Dongpo wrote it on a fan and always carried it with him.
———
Footnotes:
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